Jody L. Gookin, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, is the winner of the 2011 Excellence in Feline Research Award from the Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation. Dr. Gookin is credited with the identification of Tritrichomonas foetus as a cause of diarrhea in domestic cats. Along with colleagues, she worked for more than 12 years to establish its pathogenesis, develop diagnostic tools and find an effective treatment for the infection, according to a statement from the foundation. The award consists of $2,500 and a crystal cat, the Winnie. Vicki Thayer, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, Winn Feline Foundation president, made the announcement and presented the award at the American Veterinary Medical Association conference. Gookin received her DVM degree from the University of California at Davis, and her PhD in gastrointestinal physiology at North Carolina State University (NCSU). She is an associate professor in the department of clinical sciences at NCSU. She received a Winn Feline Foundation research grant in 2007 to study the prevalence and risk factors for venereal Tritrichomonas foetus infection and another in 2009 to study the prevalence, identity and antimicrobial susceptibility of Enterococcus spp. infection in kittens. In 2011 Gookin was awarded two Winn grants to study intestinal infection of kittens caused by E. coli and Enterococcus. <Home>
